DeRuyter sorts through positives and negatives from 'Dogs win

September 2, 2013 12:00:00 AM PDT

FRESNO, Calif. --

Thursday's opener couldn't have started out any better for Fresno State, scoring a touchdown on its first drive and setting what seemed like a great tone for the game. But then the unthinkable happened; the Bulldogs went flat.

"We've got to get stops on defense and not give up cheap ones. Of the 73 plays we played the other night on defense, 63 went for 200 yards," said Bulldogs Head Coach Tim DeRuyter. "I mean that's pretty good defense. But when you give up 10 explosive plays for 300-something yards, you can't do that."

Coach DeRuyter threw out a few terms Bulldog fans have become used to in the last decade, saying said there's no excuse for mental mistakes on offense or lapses on defense.

"I wanted everybody to enjoy the win, but then it was over," said DeRuyter. "It was, 'Guys! We're dangling. And we're going to show you on tape all the things that we've got to get corrected if we want to do the things we want to do this year.'"

"There's a lot of things that we can work on obviously," said Junior Nose Tackle Tyeler Davison. "We have to be our own biggest critics and look at that."

But while both players and coaches admitted there's a lot to clean up, they also reveled in what they called a great win for Fresno State.

"The resolve I think is something that is developed over time," said DeRuyter. "And it happens with special groups of guys."

Now the Bulldogs must clean up a lot of areas if they want to take a big step forward against Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Saturday Night.

"They're very efficient in what they do," explained DeRuyter. "And so year to year they can have guys kind of rotate through in the system because of how effectively they coach it, makes them efficient."

"They key is pretty much to be sound on your assignment," said Davison. "Every single person has to follow their assignment right."

Kickoff against the Mustangs is set for 7:00 pm for Ag Fest, with the game streamed live on the internet on espn3.com.